“I have already called Tucker Monahan, and he can meet with you today. He said you can either drop by at his garage during lunch break or around five p.m. at the house. I got the feeling he’d be happier if you came to his garage.” If Randy had a tail, it would be wagging like mad. He reminded George of a golden retriever pup, all eagerness and willingness to play.
“Thank you, Randy. We’re going to visit him during his lunch break. How did he sound when you contacted him? Apart from wanting it over and done with?” Asking this question would not only help George and Andi gauge Monahan’s mood before meeting him, but it also showed Kaustrowitz that they appreciated his efforts and valued his insights. George had too often seen cases go sideways because the beat officers involved hadn’t felt the need to give it their all, a problem that usually wouldn’t have surfaced if the officers in question had gotten a little more respect for the very necessary work they did. Was it tedious and sometimes downright boring? Yes. Was it crucial in more cases than not to find the culprits? Also, yes. George was ever so glad he didn’t have to do these things anymore and was more than willing to give credit to those who tackled them for him and Andi.
Officer Kaustrowitz beamed. “He didn’t understand why I even called. Said the coroner had declared it a death of natural causes because fire ants are considered natural.” Though he didn’t seem so sure when he said this. “When I told him there was new information and that you just wanted to verify some things, he sighed and told me when you could come.”
“Do you think he’s still grieving?” After all, Suzie Monahan had been dead for only four months.
“It’s hard to say over the phone. He sounded tired.” Kaustrowitz took a sip of his coffee. “I checked his background and his finances. Everything is sound. He claimed her life insurance in June, about four weeks after she died and two weeks after her funeral, so he wasn’t in a hurry to get it. The payout was two weeks ago—fifty thousand—which he has already added to his retirement funds. No excessive spending. As far as I can tell, he just buried her and went on with his life as it was before.”
“I guess everybody deals with loss in their own way. Perhaps going back to his routines helps him.” Or he just didn’t care that much about her. George wasn’t unkind on purpose. His inner detective had just seen too much and knew not every death was as much of a tragedy to a family as one might think. Or wished to think. There was a lot of indifference out there.
“You’re probably right, George.” Randy spoke his name carefully as if he still couldn’t believe he was allowed to call them by their first names. Actually, it had been the first thing he and Andi had told the young officer. There was no need to stand on ceremony when working together. Although with Chief Savalle and Agent DeCapristo, they would insist on proper titles. No need to invite them closer after they’d made it clear how much they resented Andi and George being here.
Not for the first time, George wondered what exactly the chief and the agent had been told about them. He knew from Luke that there were certain agents who knew about the office, though he doubted Savalle and DeCapristo had the clearance. This begged the question of how their superiority was justified to the governmental bodies they were working with. Then again, it didn’t matter as long as nobody was interfering with their work. George wondered how long it would take DeCapristo and Savalle to start meddling. Perhaps they could send Luke in again if that happened.
“Anyway, thank you, Randy. You’re a great help.”
“Oh, it’s totally my pleasure, George, Andi. This is my first big case and I’m learning so much!”
Yes, a golden retriever pup.
“That’s good to hear.” George watched as Officer Kaustrowitz got up to leave the café and return to the precinct. At the door, he turned and waved at them. George lifted his hand, while Andi just nodded. “The way I see it, we’re free till noon. Is there anything you want to do, or do we return to the hotel and you try to rest a bit more?”
“Rest.” Andi pushed his empty tea mug away from his body while getting up and shoving his chair in the other direction.
Normally such a monosyllabic answer would have made all the alarms in George’s head shrill. Today, though, he knew Andi’s taciturnity wasn’t due to the geschenk but because he was churning the few facts they had concerning this case over in his head.
They left the café and returned to the Escalade. Once they were seated, George started the car. At the same time, Andi’s cell started ringing. His partner found it on the second try—this had to be marked in the calendar—glanced at the screen and connected by tapping the panel on the console. After a day spent reading the manual a few weeks ago, George had managed to program the car’s electronics so that they automatically connected to his and Andi’s cells the moment they came in range. It also showed the caller ID, so George knew who to greet.
“Hello, Shireen, how are you doing?” Andi added a grunt, which could be interpreted as a “Hello” if one felt generous. Apparently, Shireen was having a bad day because she didn’t call Andi out on his grumpiness, which she usually enjoyed doing.
“Hi, George, Andi. I have news.”
“The way you’re saying it doesn’t sound ominous at all.” George’s attempt at lightening the mood fell flat.
“Well, I don’t know about ominous. The deeper I dig, the more frustrating and interesting it gets.”
“And you don’t like that?” Normally, Shireen loved a good challenge.
“I never said that.” There was a short pause. “I’m just pissed at somebody and can’t do anything about it, okay?”
“Who? We’re going to take care of it.” Andi’s voice was as cold as steel. He and Shireen had a special relationship, one George didn’t really understand. He knew they were close—as close as Andi could get to a person without telling them about the geschenk. How this closeness had come about or what exactly it entailed was still a mystery to George but one he was mildly curious about. Not enough to dig, just something he sometimes thought about when he had time.
“That’s sweet, Andi. Unfortunately, the person is working at NamUs, the National Missing and Unidentified Persons Systems, and being so unhelpful that I’m tempted to make a voodoo doll.”
George refrained from commenting. Shireen used the threat of voodoo dolls sparingly, though if she did, she was furious. Whatever the person at NamUs had done, they were in deep shit.
“If the person keeps it up, all three of us know how to make a corpse vanish without a trace.” George was almost sure Andi was only kidding. Almost.
“I might come back to that.” She sighed. “I should have just hacked them instead of being polite. Anyway, regarding your case. As I said, the deeper I dig, the more interesting it gets. I still haven’t gotten the sealed records for Judge Dunhill and Trevor Asten, but I’m working on it. I’ve found another connection between the other victims. And it actually has substance.”
“Shireen, we’re waiting.” George made his tone light. He didn’t want Shireen to be mad at him. He just wanted her to get on with it.
“Fine. Take my only fun this day away from me. See what you get. I already sent you the information in an e-mail. Now, one Tamika Byrnes, age seventy-five, mother of Rosalie Byrnes, who was, as you know, the girlfriend of Jagger Thomasin, is in Paradise Home for the Elderly because she has Alzheimer’s. This care home is one of the stops on the bus tour Isabelle Hopper drove, and Suzie Monahan is a former employee there.”
“Oh. That is indeed interesting. Thank you, Shireen.”
“You’re welcome.”
